The ancestors of the name Birkenhedd date back to the days of the
Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. The name is derived from their residence near a birch-covered headland. The surname Birkenhedd is derived from the Old English words
bierce, meaning birch, and
heafod, meaning head.
Early Origins of the Birkenhedd family
The surname Birkenhedd was first found in
Cheshire, at Birkenhead, a rising sea-port, market-town, and township, in the union, and Lower division of the
hundred, of Wirrall. Another branch of the family was found at Backford, a parish, in the union of Great Boughton, partly in the Higher division of the
hundred of Wirrall, and partly in the Lower division of the hundred of Broxton. "During a great part of the 13th and 14th centuries, the manor was held by the Masseys, of Timperley; about the year 1580 it was sold to Thomas Aldersey, by whom it was soon afterwards alienated to the Birkenheads, who resided at Backford Hall until the family became extinct in the male line in 1724."
[1]CITATION[CLOSE]
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Early History of the Birkenhedd family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Birkenhedd research.
Another 77 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1350, 1400, 1560, 1590, 1571, 1572, 1553, 1614, 1608, 1614, 1617, 1696, 1616 and 1679 are included under the topic Early Birkenhedd History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Birkenhedd Spelling Variations
Birkenhedd has been spelled many different ways. Before English spelling became standardized over the last few hundred years,
spelling variations in names were a common occurrence. As the English language changed in the Middle Ages, absorbing pieces of Latin and French, as well as other languages, the spelling of people's names also changed considerably, even over a single lifetime. Many variations of the name Birkenhedd have been found, including Birkenhead, Birkehead, Birkenheed, Birkenhedd, Birkead, Birkinhead and many more.
Early Notables of the Birkenhedd family (pre 1700)
Notables of the family at this time include Martin Birkhead (died 1590), an English politician from Wakefield, West
Yorkshire, Member of the Parliament for Ripon in 1571 and 1572; George Birkhead or Birket, alias Hall, Lambton, and Salvin (c.1553-1614), an English Roman Catholic priest from County
Durham who served as the...
Another 83 words (6 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Birkenhedd Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Migration of the Birkenhedd family to the New World and Oceana
In an attempt to escape the chaos experienced in
England, many English families boarded overcrowded and diseased ships sailing for the shores of North America and other British colonies. Those families hardy enough, and lucky enough, to make the passage intact were rewarded with land and a social environment less prone to religious and political persecution. Many of these families became important contributors to the young colonies in which they settled. Early immigration and passenger lists have documented some of the first Birkenhedds to arrive on North American shores:
Birkenhedd Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
- Francis Birkenhedd who settled in Barbados in 1635
- Francis Birkenhedd, aged 24, who arrived in Barbados in 1635 [2]CITATION[CLOSE]
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)